George Bush may be out to trim the fat in Washington, but here in California he went straight for the pork -- sandwiches, that is.

Two of 'em -- with fries -- served up via room service at his stay this past week in the Wuksachi Lodge after his long journey to Sequoia National Park.

"I was told by his staff that he is a very simple man with very simple tastes, and that he would probably order a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," lodge general manager Tom McFadden said. "But he didn't."

But for McFadden and others at the mountain getaway, it wasn't the Prez's food preferences that took them by surprise -- it was the Prez showing up in the first place.

As McFadden tells it, he and his staff got only a 72-hour heads-up that Bush was coming Tuesday night.

Bush and an entourage that would need 70 rooms.

In that time, they completely redecorated a suite for the president, including replacing a queen-size bed with a king (naturally).

The real kicker was the White House's request for a TV with a satellite dish and a running treadmill -- to work off the pork, no doubt.

All that stuff probably came in handy, considering that Bush never left his room once.

Bright and early the next morning, Bush again called room service -- this time ordering raisin bran with skim milk, a banana and decaf coffee.

And with that, Bush was out the door and gone.

POWER PLAY: As one of California's biggest energy providers, Calpine is obviously well-versed in the world of electrical power -- and from the looks of things down in San Jose, they're pretty good at power politics as well.

You could see that from how the company dealt with the biggest roadblock for its proposed power plant on the southern edge of town -- Mayor Ron Gonzales.

The Coyote Valley power plant had the backing of everyone from the Sierra Club to the Silicon Valley Manufacturers Association. But what it didn't have was the backing of residents in the nearby Santa Teresa neighborhood, who also happen to turn out big-time in local elections.

That meant it didn't get the backing of Gonzales, who has his long-range sights set on higher things than San Jose City Hall. Calpine set about trying to work out a compromise -- but while talks went on, so did Calpine's behind- the-scenes moves.

The company hired pollsters to gauge not just the popularity of the proposed power plant (which seemed to rise with every rolling blackout), but also voters' opinions of Gonzales (which seemed to slide with every blackout).

At the same time, Calpine hired political consultants who started identifying sympathetic voters in case it came to a fight.

It also retained a San Francisco law firm, Bagatelos and Fadden, to draw up a pro-power plant initiative. The idea was that if all else failed, Calpine could go to the ballot in March -- which also happened to be when Gonzales would be running for a second term.

Calpine was confident its initiative would win hands-down, especially with the millions it was prepared to spend.

"After all," as one source in the company told us, "you don't do something like this unless you plan to win."

And who would the loser be?

Most likely Mayor Ron.

But wouldn't you know it, last week, after wrangling some concessions, Gonzales reversed himself and dropped his opposition to the Calpine plant.

He called the new deal a "win-win" for everyone -- and in his case, at least, he was right.

So did the fear of a ballot fight have anything to do with the mayor's change of heart?

Gonzales says no -- in fact, he says it never even came up.

And, from the looks of things, it never will.

L.A PLAY: So just how serious is L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan about running for governor?

Granted, he's the only Republican who comes close to incumbent Gray Davis in the polls -- and this past week he announced a statewide tour to gauge support.

But for some time now, Republican insiders have been downplaying the idea of a Riordan run -- in part because until just recently the 71-year-old Riordan was himself downplaying the rumors.

But then President Bush called a month ago and urged him to take a closer look. Then came a pair of statewide polls showing Riordan matching up evenly with Davis.

Skeptics claim (or hope) that Riordan just can't resist one last shot in the limelight before leaving office.

But others, like his friend and adviser Clint Reilly, say it's for real -- and that Riordan is a contender.

"I now believe there is a good chance he is going to run," Reilly tells us.

The most convincing evidence: Riordan's surprise decision to endorse a Latino Democrat, Antonio Villaraigosa, over the more conservative James Hahn to succeed him as mayor -- something Reilly calls "a bridge to the new Los Angeles," i.e., Latinos.

More to the point, Riordan was cozying up to some of Villaraigosa's billionaire financial backers -- including L.A. grocery mogul Ron Burkle and developer/insurance tycoon Eli Broad, both of whom also happen to be big Gray Davis backers.

Which is why it's especially interesting to note that Riordan recently jetted off to Acapulco for a little tete-a-tete with Broad.